Parcells digs in on Taylor

Bill Parcells likes to run things his way.

The former coach of four different NFL teams and current Miami Dolphins grand poobah doesn't want owners, much less players, to tell him what to do.

After all, he's the coach who once said that if he was expected to cook the meal, he should be able to buy the groceries (draft the players). So he walked out on the New England Patriots after the taking them to the Super Bowl following the 1996 season.

Now Parcells is proving that he hasn't mellowed and is just as cantankerous as ever. Just look at his handling of the Jason Taylor situation.

Parcells is unhappy that Taylor is skipping the offseason program to, among other things, perform on ABC's Dancing With the Stars. And even though Taylor likely will retire before the Dolphins become a contender, Parcells won't trade him unless he receives a first-round pick.

Nobody is going to give up a first-round pick for a 34-year-old defensive lineman. So Parcells' stance is that Taylor will play for the Dolphins or retire.

But how does this help Parcells or the Dolphins if Taylor retires now that he has show-biz options? Parcells might be better off taking a third- or fourth-round pick for Taylor.

Remember, Jim Brown retired in his prime at age 29 when then-Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell complained the running back was missing training camp because the filming of The Dirty Dozen ran past the original schedule.

Instead, Parcells, who's not talking to the media, upped the ante last week when he told coach Tony Sparano to announce that Taylor was going to miss training camp.

This might have been a first. Usually players, not the teams, announce they'll miss camp.

At the news conference, according to the transcript e-mailed to the Times-Union by the Dolphins, Sparano said, "I'm going to answer this question one time. I'm not going to answer another question about the Jason Taylor situation after I answer this. Here is what I know." He then said Taylor wouldn't be at any OTAs, minicamp or training camp.

So the stalemate continues, even though Taylor hasn't even confirmed that he'll miss camp. Now the question is whether Parcells will wind up with a draft choice or be left empty-handed without Taylor or a draft pick.

Hey, maybe Parcells can go on Deal or No Deal.

Minority rules

Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson was ridiculed when he opposed the bargaining agreement the owners passed, 30-2, in March of 2006. He and Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown were the only owners to vote no.

When Wilson said he didn't understand the new deal, the suggestions were that he was old and out of touch.

But Wilson was vindicated last week when the owners voted 32-0 to opt out of the deal, almost six months before the Nov. 8 deadline. And now the other owners are being asked why they voted for it in the first place.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "I voted for it the last time because we had two years to see how some of this stuff worked, and if we didn't like it, we could start differently."

But if Wilson figured out it was a deal the owners wouldn't like, why couldn't Jones?

The problem now is the owners want Gene Upshaw, the head of the Players Association, to give up what they already gave him. It would have been easier not to give it to him in the first place.

Not surprisingly, Upshaw said there would be no retreat, and called owners "greedy." "

So the battle lines have been drawn.

Pats' scandal takes turn

The Patriots' cheating scandal won't go away.

It didn't get much attention when former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh said a week ago that coach Bill Belichick let a player who was on the injured-reserve list practice - a violation of rules.

Now another former Patriot player, Ross Tucker, has written on SI.com and said on ESPN that this was business as usual for the Patriots.

Tucker said when he asked veteran Troy Brown why the Patriots were violating the rules, Brown said, "Every team in the league does that."

Tucker said he told Brown he'd been on three other teams, and all three didn't do that. And Belichick can't claim he misunderstood this rule. It became a big issue when several big-money teams were using the IR list as a practice squad because they wanted to have extra players to practice.

Edge of 17?

When the NFL owners awarded the Feb. 5, 2012 Super Bowl to Indianapolis last week, they also included an alternative date a week later.

That could either clear the way to extend the season if there's a work stoppage that year or mean the league is serious about adding a 17th regular-season game.

The players aren't likely to agree to the idea if they don't get more money. Add one more issue to the table.

New head of the Pack

Times are changing in Green Bay.

In a sign that Brett Favre has really retired, new Packers starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers is holding weekly parties at his home for players and their wives.

"I've always been open, a guy that wants to be involved not only working together, but in the lives of these guys," Rodgers told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "That's why I'm having the guys over once a week, just because I want to be a connected team on and off the field."

Favre didn't bond much with his teammates, especially Rodgers.

"It was a different situation," Rodgers said. "Favre was 36. I was 21. We were 15 years apart. I'm 24, and these guys are 22, so as far as age goes, there's a little more connection there."

Quotable

"I apologize to some of the kids if they did see it because I'm trying to be a role model for them." Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young on Internet photos that showed him partying in an Austin, Texas, club. In one photo, he appears be shirtless and drinking alcohol.

This story includes information from interviews, other beat writers, Web sites and news service reports.